WavionTM, a technology carrier of grade Wi-Fi solutions, will deploy it’s Beamforming-based Wi-Fi base-stations for high-speed internet access at Ferrovalle shipping containers train yard in Mexico City, Mexico.
The Federal Railroad Administration has made high-speed rail grants available for Iowa and Nevada to develop statewide rail plans as part of a national effort to develop an integrated passenger rail network.
The Iowa Department of Transportation received $400,000 to develop a freight and passenger rail transportation model, which will expand on Iowa’s existing statewide travel demand model used in rail planning activities and used to update its 2009 State Rail Plan. The passenger rail component of the model will allow IADOT to forecast passenger rail ridership along potential corridors. Iowa will contribute $100,000 towards this project.
The Nevada Department of Transportation received $640,000 to fund the completion of the Nevada State Rail Plan. The plan will create a state policy on freight and passenger rail transportation to enhance rail service and serve as the basis for future federal and state rail investments. Nevada is contributing $345,699.
An agreement signed by the Washington State Department of Transportation and BNSF clears the way for work to begin on rail upgrades that will improve Amtrak Cascades service between Seattle and Portland.
The state can begin initial work this fall using some of the $781 million in federal grants awarded to Washington in the past two years. This money is part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act high-speed-rail grants administered by the Federal Railroad Administration.
The ARRA money will be used to purchase new locomotives and passenger coaches, as well as build bypass tracks and make upgrades to existing tracks shared by Amtrak and BNSF. Two Amtrak Cascades daily roundtrips between Seattle and Portland will be added as well.
The first rail-improvement project will occur in Everett, where two new tracks will be built for freight trains entering the rail terminal, taking them out of the way of oncoming passenger trains.
This agreement sets up a clear contractual relationship between WSDOT and BNSF. As such, it outlines mutually agreed upon requirements and performance measures, including project schedules and budgets, contracting methods, procurement and purchasing processes and budget and billing procedures, among other things.
"This is an important step towards improving the trackage infrastructure to help meet current and future demands for both passenger and freight rail service," said BNSF Chairman and CEO Matt Rose.
The Sound Transit Board selected a route and stations for building the Seattle area East Link light-rail extension to serve the communities of East King County, culminating five years of study and community involvement.
"Getting light-rail across Lake Washington will enable future phases of expansion to reach other Eastside destinations," said Sound Transit Board Vice Chair and Issaquah City Council Deputy President Fred Butler.
The route and stations selected by the board will be reviewed by the Federal Transit Administration. After Sound Transit receives a Record of Decision from the FTA, the project will move into final design. Sound Transit is expected to start construction of East Link in 2015 or 2016 and launch passenger service in 2022 or 2023.
The decision includes a tunnel through downtown Bellevue that is contingent on the City of Bellevue providing $160 million of the approximately $300 million of additional cost of building a tunnel.
East Link riders would have one-seat rides between Redmond, Bellevue, Mercer Island to Seattle’s downtown, Capitol Hill, University of Washington, Roosevelt and Northgate neighborhoods and in peak periods to the cities of Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood as well.
More East Link project information can be found online: http://projects.soundtransit.org/Projects-Home/East-Link-Project.xml
The Utah Transit Authority will introduce the Mid-Jordan and West Valley TRAX lines to Salt Lake County during opening ceremonies Aug. 2. The public is invited to ride the trains Aug. 2, but both lines don’t officially open until Aug. 7.
The Mid-Jordan TRAX line will run down the existing Bingham Branch Railroad corridor in a southwesterly direction branching off of the existing Sandy/Salt Lake light-rail line at the 6400 South TRAX station and extending west to 5600 West. From there, the line will turn south toward Kennecott Land’s new Daybreak development in South Jordan, Utah.
The West Valley Line is 5.1 miles of ballasted light-rail connecting to the current Sandy Line at 2100 South Street and ending near West Valley City Hall. The line will branch off from the Sandy to Salt Lake TRAX Line at the 2100 South Central Pointe station, traveling west. Bridges will extend the line over the Union Pacific Roper Yard and the Jordan River. It will then run north of the Redwood Nature Area and the Decker Lake drainage canal. The line ends at the West Valley City Hall. This project also includes four new stations. It is estimated to cost between $250 and $290 million.
TriMet has hired for two positions focused on diversity and serving multicultural populations. Johnell Bell has been selected as the agency’s director of diversity and transit equity. In a newly created role, Martin Gonzalez, a TriMet employee since 2007, will serve as multicultural program manager.
Bell will continue TriMet’s regional and national leadership in transit equity, ensuring services and infrastructure are equitably distributed and accessible to diverse cultural, racial and economic communities throughout the agency’s service area. Bell will also lead the agency’s minority contracting efforts. Bell begins Aug. 1.
Bell most recently worked for U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) where he represented Merkley in Multnomah County, focusing on issues of diversity, community and government relations and environmental justice.
Gonzalez will continue building TriMet’s Limited English Proficiency program and provide leadership on internal and external issues around cultural competency. He will begin in his new position Aug. 1.
Gonzalez joined TriMet in 2007 after his work as executive director of the Portland, Ore., SCHOOLS Alliance.
Caltrain in the San Francisco area, will begin delivering ballast to a storage area on its property between the train tracks and Chilco Street in Menlo Park, Calif. The ballast will be used for a variety of railroad construction and maintenance projects, including the San Bruno Grade Separation.
The deliveries are expected to continue for several weeks. The ballast will be delivered in a 54-car train, which will be staged at Redwood Junction. The train will be divided into smaller trains of six to eight cars that will deliver the ballast to the Chilco Street storage site. A total of three 54-car trains will be needed to complete the delivery.
Union Pacific will improve Colorado’s transportation infrastructure with more than $6 million in investment to enhance the rail line that runs from Bond to Dotsero. The more than 40-mile project includes removing and installing more than 47,000 ties and renewing the surfaces at 20 road crossings. Crews will also spread 19,400 tons of ballast to ensure a stable roadbed.
The Sound Transit Board approved accelerating construction of the South Link light-rail extension from Sea-Tac Airport to South 200th Street in Seattle, Wash. The South 200th Link project includes a 1.6-mile, elevated guideway and station with a planned opening in September 2016, four years earlier than envisioned in the voter-approved Sound Transit 2 plan and at the same time, University Link service will begin.
"Moving forward with construction of the South 200th light rail extension earlier than planned is an exciting opportunity for South King County," said Aaron Reardon, Sound Transit Board chair and Snohomish County executive. "In just a few short years, thousands of south county residents every day will be able to enjoy fast, efficient light rail service to the airport, downtown Seattle and the University of Washington, with numerous connections to other major employment centers throughout the region."
The decision to accelerate construction was based on the project’s state of readiness to move forward with final design and construction, its potential to increase ridership and its capacity to provide additional system parking concurrent with the opening of the University Link project. The agency is also in a position to take advantage of a favorable bidding climate. Sound Transit plans to use a design-build delivery method for the project.
The project is estimated to cost $383.2 million and Sound Transit will apply for a federal Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery grant. Based on the size of the South 200th extension, if awarded, the grant could be between $28 to $34 million. Grant funding received would be added to the financial capacity of the South King County subarea.
By 2018, the South 200th Station will serve an estimated 2,700 boardings on an average weekday. The stations at Capitol Hill and the University of Washington will serve 11,800 and 14,900 riders each weekday, respectively. System-wide, 25 million transit users will ride Link in 2018. By 2030, Link light rail will serve 260,000 people each weekday.
Additionally, Sound Transit Board has plans for the implementation of an agency Sustainability Plan.
The plan outlines how the agency will implement and fund sustainability efforts across all activities related to planning, designing, constructing and operating transit services and facilities. It establishes long-term priorities and provides a roadmap for how actions will be accomplished as Sound Transit delivers major transit investments across the region in the years ahead.
"Sound Transit offers residents throughout our growing region the opportunity to reduce their environmental footprints by climbing aboard our buses and trains. However, our contributions don’t end there," said Sound Transit Board Chair and Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon. "We are committed to making sustainability a core factor in everyday operating decisions."
The Sustainability Plan, available at www.soundtransit.org/environmental, will build on the agency’s work since 2004 to respond to this global challenge.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. has elected Richard Allert to its board of directors, effective July 26, 2011.
Allert has extensive public company board experience in Australia, including chairman of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Limited from 2000 until its 2011 acquisition by AMP Limited and as chairman of Coles Group Limited, Australia’s second-largest retailer, from 2002 until 2007. He also previously served as chairman of the AustralAsia Railway Corporation, chairman of Southcorp Limited, chairman of Voyages Hotels & Resorts and chairman of Tourism Australia.Allert has been a director of GWI’s Australian subsidiary, Genesee & Wyoming Australia Pty Ltd, since 2008.
"As Australia is GWI’s largest and fastest growing operating region, I could not envision a more ideal addition to our Board than Rick Allert," said GWI Chairman Mortimer Fuller III. "His vast experience in all facets of Australian business will continue to be of significant benefit to GWI."
Watco Transportation Services has named Brian Simpson general manager for the Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad. Simpson is currently serving as the general manager of the Great Northwest Railroad and is looking forward to the additional responsibility of both railroads.
Simpson joined Watco on May 26, 2010, as the general manager of the GRNW. During this time the railroad has had an outstanding safety record of zero injuries and zero derailments. He has 12 years experience in railroading and came to the GRNW/PCC from the Union Pacific, where he was a manager of terminal opera¬tions.
Union Pacific will invest more than $7 million to improve Kansas’ transportation infrastructure by enhancing the rail line that runs from Russell to Hays and more than 11 miles in a segment between Russell and Ellsworth.
The more than 36-mile project includes removing and installing rail, renewing the surfaces at 63 road crossings and replacing nearly a thousand feet of rail in various curves.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority released its 2012 preliminary budget and July financial plan for 2012 to 2015.
The plan is expected to achieve a balanced budget while avoiding service cuts and fare and toll increases in 2012. It also addresses the need for a financing strategy for the final three years of the MTA’s 2010 to 2014 capital program. The July plan is preliminary; the MTA Board will vote on a final budget in December.
The plan has four components: a focus on cost cutting; a three-year zero wage increase initiative; continued implementation of biennial 7.5 percent fare/toll increases in 2013 and 2015; and continued receipt of taxes and subsidies.
The plan builds on $525 million in recurring savings achieved in 2010.
The capital program is focused on achieving two main objectives: protecting the safety and reliability of the transportation system by maintaining and improving key infrastructure.
The MTA’s strategy for addressing the capital program’s funding gap starts with making choices to stretch available investment dollars. These savings will be achieved by reducing capital administrative staff by 15 percent, reducing the cost of train and bus purchases and partnering with contractors and labor to reduce bid costs.
The MTA has identified an innovative and pragmatic financing strategy to fund the final three years of the program: a $2.2 billion federal loan, $4.7 billion in MTA revenue bonds and a manageable debt level with existing capital funds to repay the federal and MTA debt as well as local partnerships ($1.7 billion) and asset sales ($.89 billion).
Full details of the Financial Plan are available online at http://www.mta.info/mta/budget/july2012.html.
Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority Board of Directors awarded a $485.9 million contract to Foothill Transit Constructors – A Kiewit Parsons Joint Venture, to design and construct the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Azusa, Calif.
The project includes final design and construction of 11.5 miles of track, six stations, dozens of crossings, utilities and systems among others. The project will take approximately four years to complete.
The Chicago Transit Authority will receive $11 million in federal funding to begin immediate repairs to the dilapidated Loyola CTA Station and to conduct an environmental study on the extension and modernization of the Red and Purple Lines. The design work for the Loyola CTA station project is already underway and construction is slated to begin in the spring of 2012.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured $10 million in federal funding for the project in the fiscal year 2010 Transportation and Housing Appropriations bill, and $1 million in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA-LU).
"It’s part of our larger plans to renovate the Red Line from Howard to 95th Street and extend it south to provide service to areas not presently served," said Chicago Transit Board Chairman Terry Peterson.
At the Loyola CTA Station, the federal and local investment will help stabilize existing infrastructure, make upgrades to the existing station and redirect passenger flow for pedestrian safety. The project will include upgrades to the viaduct and improve lighting and visibility.
The Red and Purple modernization is proposed to bring those lines to a state of good repair from north of Belmont in Chicago to the Linden Station in Wilmette.
The American Public Transportation Association Board of Directors named Michael Melaniphy as its new president and chief executive officer effective Nov. 1, 2011. Melaniphy will replace William Millar, who is retiring after 15 years as APTA president.
Melaniphy’s entire career has been in public transportation with 23 years of experience in the public and private sectors. Melaniphy, who is currently vice president of the public sector for bus manufacturer Motor Coach Industries, Inc., has led public transit systems in North Carolina, Kansas, Ohio and Texas.
The Tri-Met Board of Directors delayed voting on a LIFT fare increase after hearing concerns from the community. The majority of the board stated that a fare increase is necessary, but wanted more time to discuss options. The board will reconsider the increase in January 2012.
The current cash LIFT fare is $1.85 per trip, but the cost to Tri-Met is about $29. Tri-Met had proposed the fare increase because the cost and growth of the service is unsustainable.
Chicago Transit Authority will invest $10 million to hire 50 full-time police officers to patrol rail and bus stations across the city.
"This investment in full-time officers to patrol CTA’s rail and bus stations will help ensure the safety and security of all who rely on the CTA," said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The 50 full-time police officers will come from the Chicago Police Academy. They are scheduled to begin the Academy in the fall of this year. They will go through six-months of training, with officers expected to be detailed to the Public Transportation Section by spring 2012.
The Regional Transportation Authority in the Chicago area proposed a Request for Information on the integration of real-time transit tracking. The RTA is exploring options for providing up-to-the minute regional travel information. This live information would aid customers riding on the CTA, Chicago Metra and Pace buses and trains.
The RTA is seeking innovative approaches on possible systems to provide the public with a one-stop shop for estimated bus and train arrivals, departures and connections.
The requirement for real-time information is also tied to the transit technology legislation drafted by the RTA and signed into law earlier this month by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.
Union Pacific will improve Minnesota’s transportation infrastructure with more than $11 million in investment to enhance the rail line that runs from Minneapolis to Ottawa, Minn. The more than 66-mile project includes removing and installing nearly 82,000 ties, renewing the surfaces at 64 road crossings and replacing more than one mile of rail in various curves. Crews will also spread 42,600 tons of ballast to ensure a stable roadbed.
Improvement projects such as this are examples of Union Pacific continuing efforts to support its customers’ business through strategic investments.
